Disability insurance is a type of insurance that individuals can take to protect themselves financially in case of a disability that may make them unable to work. The insurance can also cover sicknesses, injuries and all other types of disabilities. This kind of insurance comes in two types: short-term disability insurance and long-term disability insurance. Employers may decide to offer one or both, and can provide this at little or no cost to employees.

The programs that cover short-term disabilities usually run between 30 and 90 days. There are however, those that may continue for a much longer period of time. The kind of benefits one gets with such an insurance also varies from one insurer to the other. Some will give you a 60% of the employee’s pre-disability income while others will give you a 70% of the same. In some cases, employees will be subjected through a waiting period before they can receive their short-term disability benefits.

Long-term disability insurance programs are a little different and they will commence as soon as the short-term ones have been exhausted. They will also cover a certain percentage of the employee’s pay and may come as a monthly maximum. The amount of money you get as long-term disability benefits is largely determined by the amount of Social Security disability benefits and/or workers’ compensation benefits that you will receive.

Other than these two programs, some employers offer to provide a wage and salary continuation plans or integrated disability plans to employees who suffer a disability.  Employers are however, not required by disability insurance laws to provide disability insurance to their employees. Only a few areas will require an employee to be covered by short-term disability insurance but through state-run programs or even by private or self-insurance coverage that work the same. If you opt for the state programs, be prepared to receive only the common disability benefits. State programs do not provide long-term disability plans too.

HR compliance analysis

Everyone in an organization has a mandate that they need to comply with so as to be considered working lawfully or legally. HR compliance analysis ensures that everyone in the business is meeting all their legal obligations, failure to which you may face an industrial dispute or tribunal claims. HR compliance involves everyone in the organization. As the head of human resource, the HR should implement policies and procedures that should be followed to ensure that all legal obligations have been met.

When everyone is aware of their responsibilities, behavior and where they should go for support or to raise concerns, the business will work well and easily achieve all its goals without facing any legal issues.

For every employee, prior preparedness is important because no one really knows when a disability will prevent you from working. However, it is important to be aware of the kind of disability benefit you might get beforehand, so as to be well prepared if and when a disability happens. Knowledge of disability insurance laws is also necessary not just for employees but for HRs too, for total compliance.